A futurologist who coined ‘IKEAfication’ explains why Denmark is unlike other Nordic countries

Swedish futurologist and speaker Magnus Lindkvist thinks Danes are more like the Dutch or the Israeli rather than a Nordic people.

At the Nordic Business Forum in Stockholm, he said the Nordic countries are quite different.

Lindkvist is known for his thought-provoking ideas on technology and the future of business.

There's consensus today that the Nordic countries are building closer ties in business, politics and national security matters. Swedish futurologist and author Magnus Lindkvist begs to differ.

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“I don’t see that happening," Lindkvist told Business Insider Nordic.

Here's his explanation.

“Finland, there they are very American, very hierarchical; the strong forceful ‘Finglish’ male, often being the CEO,” Lindkvist said during the Nordic Business Forum in Stockholm.

“You have Norway cutely copying everything Sweden did five years ago.”

With a light-minded style not unlike that of his compatriot and fellow futurologist, Funky Business author Kjell Nordström, Lindkvist delved into the psychology of the Danes.

“Then you have Denmark, which would never do anything with Sweden if we weren’t so close together. The Danes are in essence Dutch or Israeli; frugal, global, sales minded, [who] enjoy making deals,” Lindkvist, who is a sought-after speaker among CEOs and politicians around the world, said, adding:

"This has only been aggravated in past years. Ten years ago we said [The Öresund bridge] would spawn the Malmö-Copenhagen region.”

“Nobody in Copenhagen could care less about Malmö.”

And then Lindkvist weaved everything into his grand theory:

“Things are invented in Finland or Sweden, copied by Norway; Denmark does something completely different.”

Magnus Lindkvist has written the book 'The Minifesto' (2016), which describes how small ideas can change the world.

Gareth Gilmour

Not to forget – Iceland.

"And then there’s that island in the Atlantic, that people always forget, that are supposedly also part of the Nordics."

Lindkvist also said that the Nordic countries tend to overestimate their global position in tech and business.

“None of [the things countries think make them special] is an advantage,” Lindkvist said.

The thinking should instead be “what we’re good at here; assume we probably suck at it and that nobody is interested. Go out with humility and curiosity,” Lindkvist said.

“It’s the one country on earth where people see it as a compliment to call them un-Swedish. If you say to people they're un-American or they’re un-Japanese, you’ll get killed,” Linkvist said. “If you say to Swedish people ‘you’re so un-Swedish’, that’s appreciated."

As to IKEAfication, Magnus Lindkvist explained his term as follows:

“Based on Ingvar Kamprad’s idea for Ikea, I coined this term to describe how technology travels along a trajectory that enables you to do more with less. It’s not just for the rich or the cash-rich companies. An example is how making movies has gone from ‘kissing ass of old men’ to everybody being able to do it at home.”

See Magnus Lindkvist's full interview with BI Nordic below (starting from 21:00):